Which Dandruff Treatment Will Work?
To find a dandruff treatment that will work, it's helpful to know a little bit about dandruff and what causes it in the first place. Dandruff is often something that comes and goes. Though nor a seasonal condition, weather can play a part in triggering dandruff. Other well known triggers are dark suit jackets and black dresses.
Dandruff (seborrhea) is a somewhat common form of skin eczema. It most often affects parts of the body where the oil content on the skin is high, the scalp being one of those places. While flaking of the skin will occur wherever seborrhea is present, it is usually most noticeable when the scalp is affected and the dandruff flakes collect in the hair.
A Common Mistake - A common mistake when treating seborrhea is to apply a moisturizer, since in the affected areas the skin may feel dry. It is not dry however, at least the skin that has not flaked off, and moisturizer only makes the condition worse. A moisturizer applied to the scalp may at first seem to be an effective dandruff treatment, since the dandruff appears to have gone away or at least the number of flakes seem to be significantly less. What has happened however, is the moisturizer has simply "glued" the loose flakes to the skin, where they will pile up and eventually work free.
Although people who have weakened immune systems often have more severe cases of seborrhea, and often copious amounts of dandruff, the immune system is not the cause, nor is a yeast that lives on the skin that appears to work in harmony with seborrhea. The cause of seborrhea, and dandruff remains unknown. What we do know is there are a number of treatments for dandruff that are quire effective.
Since inflammation of the skin is involved, a dandruff treatment should contain an anti inflammatory agent of some sort. It should also have something to counteract the presence of excessive oil on the skin, and ideally would also have something that would prevent flaking of the skin. Finally, an effective dandruff treatment should contain some agent that can effectively control or eliminate the yeast that appears to add to the problem.
Over-The-Counter Treatments - There are a number of over-the-counter medicated shampoos that are often quite effective in controlling or preventing dandruff. Look for a shampoo that contains one or more of the following ingredients: salicylic acid, ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, or zinc pyrithione. Once the medicated shampoo has done its job, it's usually recommended to switch back to a non-medicated shampoo and stick with it, unless or until the problem returns. If that happens, switch back to a medicated shampoo. Sometimes a medicated shampoo which has proven to be effective will stop being so, and it may be necessary to change to another medicated type. For more severe cases, try using a scalp lotion containing a 1% concentration of cortisone to reduce the amount of inflammation. The cortisone creams may either be used separately or together with the medicated shampoos.
Suggested Home Remedies - There are useful home remedies as well, including fenugreek seeds ground into a paste, lime juice, and water in which beets, both the roots and leaves, have been boiled. White beets are recommended, not because they are more effective, but to avoid having to walk around with a scalp that has a purplish hue, not to mention what beet juice, even in diluted form, can do to a pillow case. A 5-day all fruit diet is also considered by many to be effective, although it's not clear what happens when one goes off the diet for an extended time. In any event, if you've planned on dieting anyway, a diet that can help shed a few pounds, effectively treat dandruff, and is healthy besides, doesn't sound all that bad.